The Consumer’s Corner

This is a value driven website (or blog, whichever you prefer), and as you’ve seen most of what we write consists of product reviews. But I want the The Consumer’s Corner to be more than that; I have three goals. I want to help individuals make more money, save more money, and get the most value possible from every single cent of that money. We’ve been leaning very hard on the ‘value part’ (product reviews), and that will continue to be our largest focus. But I want to offer other advice and information, especially to my young readers, that addresses the other issues that I mentioned.

In an age where transaction occur blindly, issues of identity theft and credit fraud should be on your mind at all times. The idea of identity theft has been harped about so much recently, it’s almost to the point that it’s being ‘glossed’ over. You hear something so many times, you will eventually stop paying attention. You simply cannot allow this to happen; making that mistake could cause (at best) a year or two’s worth of headaches, or (at worst) cripple you financially for decades. As you get older, your credit rating will affect everything from your ability to get a simple credit card with a decent interest rate, all the way to your ability to secure housing for yourself.

‘I’m young, I don’t even have any credit to worry about.’ If you have a social security number, you have credit of some type, or at least the ability for someone else to take out credit on your behalf. Upon running my first credit report check, I was amazed to find accounts open that I was clueless about, and an alternate address of ‘mine’ that I’ve never lived in. What are these? Who bought what? It very well may have been something I purchased myself, but it may not. Either way, it’s nice to know the information is available to me, so I can attempt to resolve it, and get those negative marks off of my report. The extra address may indicate an attempted case of identity theft; I recognize the address as the residence of a very untrustworthy person that I unfortunately happen to be related to. Always be super protective of your social security number; those nine digits are the key to it all.

‘How can I retrieve this information?’ There are three big credit reporting agencies; Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Each of the credit agencies are required (by United States law) to freely give you one credit report every year, upon your request. You’re not required to request all the reports at the same time, so if you space them out, you can keep a fairly keen eye on your status with absolutely no charge to you at all. I’ll give you the official government link at the end of the article. Should you start running into issues, you may choose to hire a service to monitor your credit for you (for a fee), but this certainly will not be necessary for everyone. I cannot at this time refer you to a specific agency should you encounter problems; it’d be best to seek the help of a professional financial adviser.

‘My report is clean, but I do not have any credit, and I’d like to build some. What do I do?’ The answer is simple, but requires a lot of self discipline (discipline is essential when it comes to all things credit). Get a credit card. Use that credit card. Pay off that credit card. Every single month. At first, it might be difficult to acquire a line of credit, I was turned down three times, but someone will eventually say ‘Yes.’ I will recommend a company here; Capital One has a card specifically tailored to help people either establish new credit, or reverse bad credit. They were the ones who gave me my first approval, and I think we’ve been happy with each other since. So long as you use the card ($30-$50 a month should work), and pay it on time (every time!) your credit score will start to rise, and new opportunities will present themselves. In fact, they upped my credit line by one third this month, because I’ve been responsible with my account.

Set a budget, and make sure that budget includes a certain percentage for “I’m not touching this money until I retire” savings. That budget has to be in line with your income. If it’s not, you have to reassess and trim some fat, or find new avenues of income generation. Use your credit, but don’t abuse your credit. That will at least get you started on the path towards a bright financial future.

I hope these tips will be able to help some of you. The world is big, it’s complicated, and it sucks. Use opportunities like this to learn from other’s successes and failures; there is no more efficient way to get ahead in life. I encourage (beg?) financial/credit bloggers to leave links in the comment section of this post, so my readers will be able to get more accurate and detailed advice, should they seek it. Have a good one, Consumers!

Annual Credit Report dot com

–Jeremy Hobbs

finance, credit, indentity theft, consumers, credit report

I have a bit of an advice article for you today, instead of my regular product review. I enjoy eating out, but that can often be a bit difficult to do if you’re living on a budget, and I survive on a pretty tight one. Fast food is usually cheap, but the type of ‘eating out’ I’m talking about is ’sit down, be waited on’ kind of dining. I’m going to offer you some of the tips I’ve discovered on how to eat cheap.

Stay far, far away from large chains. Their owners have to jack up the cost of the meals to pay for licensing fees on top of all of the usual costs associated with running a restaurant. He or she doesn’t pay for those extra expenses out of their own pockets; you do. Not a law, but in general, I find the prices at ‘Ma and Pa’ establishments to be (at least) ten to fifteen percent cheaper than most chain restaurants (Pizza Hut, Red Lobster, Outback, ect).

I also find the quality of food at independent eateries to be of a higher quality as well. I eat at a local pizza place all the time, and I know they use fresh ingredients. ‘How does he know,’ you ask? Well, the kitchen is open and I can see what’s going on my pizza, and where it came from. I can see the dough being kneaded by hand. The prices are really amazing; for around six bucks I can leave that particular place having eaten way too much food.

Being a regular customer at a small establishment can also have other advantages. If they cater, and you’re ever in need of that service, they’re more likely to work with you on prices. Sometimes, to show that they appreciate your loyalty as a customer, they’ll throw you a freebie now and then. Other little things are nice as well, even if they don’t save you much money; at family owned establishments, it’s almost always the same people working all the time, so you get to know them, and vice versa. It’s really nice to get on a first name basis with folks, rather than being just another customer.

Some more general tips:

* Unless you’re going out specifically to have drinks, don’t order alcohol. Especially beer. You’re paying around a 400% markup on a twelve ounce long neck. Just wait it out and grab a six pack on the way home.

* Order water, not soda. It’s (almost always) free, and it’s good for you. Sodas or tea can run you up to $2.50 in some places; not a huge hit if it’s just a party of one, but it adds up fairly quickly for a family or group.

* Check your local coupon books; they’ll often save a you a couple of dollars. All that’s required is that you swallow your pride, and clip them out. Free money.

* Ask your waiter/waitress if there are any daily specials. I don’t do this enough myself (I’m one of those guys that will always order exactly the same thing). The meal itself may not be much cheaper, but you might get an extra side or free drink. Depends on the restaurant.

* Order lunch portions! This one is probably the biggest money saver of them all. The portion should be plenty to fill you up, and cost you around 35% less. I’ve never once had an eatery give me a hard time about it, and I would not return to a place that did.

Take these tips, use them often, and see if it saves you some dime. Don’t forget to tip well, especially if you plan on coming back. They don’t forget that stuff!

–Jeremy Hobbs

food, eating out, dining, saving money